Save State
by Aviantei
Summary: In order to achieve a dream, one must wake up from it first. Faced with a decision, the hero must break out of their assigned role and go on to what they think is right. And from there is where the dream truly begins.
1. Prologue

**Save State**

By: Aviantei

Prologue

* * *

The wind was at my back, making running all the easier. I made my way forwards in leaps and bounds, jumping down the ledges as they came. Every now and then, I would lose my balance, thanks to the ground shaking.

I didn't care. I had to keep moving. After traveling around the country for weeks on foot and bike, this was nothing. I had to keep going. It would take a while and be exhausting, but I had to do it. Everything had been for this.

I pushed forward.

Past the colors and scenery. Past everything so familiar yet foreign. Over ground that was hard, ground that was too soft to get a proper foothold in. Without resistance, through a path that pushed against me harder than any tall grass. I overcame it all because I had to.

And ultimately I stopped. I nearly ran into the obstacle, then stopped. Breathing heavily, I placed my hands on the wall to keep standing. Highly textured plastic met my skin, intricate patterns formed before my eyes. The source of the shaking got closer, and I struggled to stay on my feet.

I turned around, stared at the sight before me. At my waist, a pokéball twitched, then broke open on its own. Wicker stood her ground, tiny form against the odds at the giant before us. Her mouth opened, emitting a beautiful cry into the air.

And then the surreal world was gone, and I was left sitting in my living room.

Wicker nudged my arm. I saw it. Still there, still ready to strike. From here, it was far less intimidating. I could have taken care of it in that moment, made it mine, but I didn't.

The vacuum cleaner was sitting beside me. I grabbed the nozzle and placed it over my opponent, my should-be prize. I flicked on the switch. Lifting up the nozzle, there was nothing left. Wicker nudged an empty ultra ball over to me from where it had fallen out of my pack earlier. Without even thinking, I sucked it up, too.

_Now I just need to go to the title screen and—_

* * *

Well, here I go again. Seriously, my system just likes giving me all the new stories instead of letting me post updates to new things. Oh well.

This story happened because of a dream I had a few months ago. Most of that dream is in this prologue, with a few other things in later chapters. Since that dream, it's almost gotten out of control in what I'm actually doing, but that's okay.

I'm also trying out some weird story telling effects that fit into the type of story this is. I can't say much about them, because that kind of spoils things about where the story is going, so I'll keep them to myself. Just know that things that seem weird are (mostly) on purpose.

Another important note is that this story kind of exists on its own without being all too connected to canon, but still being Pokemon. I hope you can enjoy it regardless.

Next time we see the a little bit more of our narrator. Please look forward to it!


	2. File One: Memory Error

**Save State**

By: Aviantei

File One: Memory Error

* * *

"Oi, —, you gonna come help us today?"

"Sorry," I said, "but I can't. I have something important I need to do."

Fri sighed, shaking her head. Strands of her hair swayed with the movement. "—, you've been making the excuse for weeks," she complained. A disgusted look crept onto her face. "Every day it's 'something important,' but you just lay around in the house doing nothing. It's not like you're doing the housekeeping this place so desperately needs. We could all really use your help, you know."

"I know, I know, preparations for the summer festival, right?" I sat up on the couch, stretching, but moved no further. "I get that it's a busy time, but I just can't help out. I mean, if it's something important that won't take too much time, sure. But if it's some time-consuming, week-long project like I _know_ you love to take part in, count me out."

"You're not doing anything else with your life, anymore, —." Fri frowned, glaring down from where she stood over me. Even her hands were planted firmly on her hips. It was an impressive sight. "I thought pushing you to go on a journey would be good for you. And for a while, I was right. But now you're worse than you were before. Being the Champion has made you complacent. You don't strive for anything anymore." She turned, heading towards the door. "If you ever decide to do anything again, I'll be helping with the ceremony preparations."

I winced as she slammed the door shut, then laid back down. I couldn't say Fri was completely wrong. I hadn't done much of anything in the past month and a half. I stayed in my house half the time, played with my Pokémon the other half. If anything, the incident with Wicker seemed like a dream, and that was the last time I had felt motivated. I still hadn't told anyone about the incident.

What if it was a dream? I couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't, but didn't want to take the chance. I had even checked the inside of the vacuum out of paranoia. Not even my ultra ball was there. Wicker at least understood, nudging me on every time I took care of her. Sometimes when she called out, it was terribly sad, like she knew something was missing, too.

If I were to lie around the house all day, Fri would just come back and yell at me some more. If I went out, she might see my by chance, and also yell at me some more. Further, she might also succeed in dragging me around this time. Not being able to accept that as the outcome, I chose to exert some energy now as opposed to later. I was a harder to find target if I was changing my location, anyway.

Outside it was peaceful. As always, the remains of Mom's flower garden were somehow still perfectly healthy. I walked on. Like it should be during summer, it was definitely hot. Even so, the world was alive through the heat that had discouraged my own activity.

The silence didn't last long. I was only able to make it off the path that led from my house into town before I could hear it. There were shouts of instructions and the general hubbub of excitement. I could even hear the sounds of handheld construction. They really were going all out this year.

Even though this was my own hometown, I stayed cautious as I walked down the street. There were a lot of people I didn't care if they saw me, and I lot of people who I wouldn't _mind_ if they saw me, but there were still a lot of people I definitely didn't want to see me. In particular, there was one person I couldn't afford to be seen by, and that person was Fri.

"Yooo, —~, looong tiiime nooo seeeeeee," a voice drawled out as a force attached itself to my leg. Fuji was someone that I could safely say fell into the neutral category, though her alliance could easily be changed. This could serve as either an advantage or a disadvantage. The small girl pulled closer, attempting to latch onto my sleeve and crawl up my arm. "Nee-chan's been complaining about you, —, whatcha been up tooooo?"

"Fri's complaining that much, huh?" I muttered, trying to ignore the idea. If even Fuji was catching wind of it, her sister must have been getting really sick of me. Fuji stared up at me with expectant eyes. I picked up the small girl as a distraction. I was in no ways prepared to give a satisfying explanation for my actions. "Look at you, Fuji-chan, don't you look cute in your festival clothes!"

Fuji-chan's expression brightened right on cue, a smile covering her face. "You think?!" she exclaimed. I sat her back down, watching her spin around. The sleeves of her yukata fluttered in the wind, but she mis-stepped mid-spin, causing her to trip in her sandals. The resulting fall ended with Fuji-chan's face pressed against the front of my legs. This did nothing to dampen her mood, and she freed her mouth from the obstruction I was causing to her ability to speak. "Nee-chan finally said it was alright to wear her old yukata!"

I smiled. Fri was unnecessarily possessive of her belongings. I had taken one of her toys as a child and was hence beaten up for it. Fuji had a serious admiration for her sister, actually wanting hand-me-downs to become her own. In opposition, Fri was reluctant to give up things, even if she didn't use them anymore. This was, thus, a great victory for the younger of the siblings.

"But the festival still isn't for another few weeks," I said. I know you're excited, but you need to be careful. There's a lot of paint and such flying around here. You don't wanna get your sister's yukata dirty before then."

"Eeeeeeeeh?" Fuji looked as if the idea hadn't even occurred to her. "I've been suuuper careful though. I even decided not to work on our class project today and just pass messages between everyone. And if I only wear it for one day before then, there's no way it'll get dirty, riiiight?"

That wasn't an accurate description how probability worked, but I decided not to tell her that. Much like her sister, if Fuji was confident, she'd get the results she wanted. If not, she'd worry so much to the point that something _would_ go wrong as a result. Besides, the fact that I didn't want Fuji in trouble, I could only imagine how much of the already stressed out Fri's irritation would be dumped on me if something happened to the yukata she was probably still clinging to in her heart.

"I'm sure you'll take care of it, though," I said, just as extra assurance.

Fuji-chan smiled at me, a complete antithesis to any expression her sister had given me recently. I hadn't seen Fri smile at me at all since I had become the Champion, a smile of true happiness that I had achieved a goal I had been trying to accomplish for so long. I probably could have seen a lot more of that smile if I had stayed in town. Instead I had run off on a quest to find legendary Pokémon, unlikely as it was. She had smiled when I left, too and smiled when I came back then…

Then what? I knew nothing. What the hell was I supposed to think of that strange dream, one I could have sworn mixed into reality but held no real influence over it, no real truth? Something had to have happened at that time, to cause my change in attitude. To make her stop smiling at me.

"Oooiii, —~, you okaaay?" Fuji-chan pulled on my sleeve again, this time staying rooted on the ground. "I'm gonna take good care of the yukata, so don't worry about it, alriiight?" Her eyes were wide as she stared up at me, almost like she was scared something had happened. She really did look like Fri did when we were kids. It was nostalgic, making me wish for something beyond a smile of a few weeks ago.

"Don't worry, Fuji-chan, —'s just spacing out again," a voice commented. I turned my head towards the voice, scowling at their analysis. Errat grinned at me, streaks of paint marked across his face. I couldn't tell if they were made on accident or intended as a declaration of war they were so chaotic yet organized. In his hands he held a few cans of paint. "And not to be rude, don't you have a message to deliver down to your sister?"

"Aaaah, yeah that's riiight…" Fuji-chan said slowly, looking up to the sky as if to check if that was the right answer to give. I looked up as well. A few clouds drifted by, not even bothering to block out the sun. It was definitely one of those days. "Ya seeeee, I haven't talked to — in so long I figured it could wait, ya knoooow?."

I directed my gaze back to Fuji-chan, who was sticking out her tongue cutely "If it's something you were supposed to tell your sister, you should probably go," I said without hesitation. Fuji-chan started at the words, looking surprised and disappointed at the same time. "She's been working hard and if it's something important she'll need to know as soon as possible. It's only something you can do, Fuji-chan, and people are counting on you."

"Right!" Fuji-chan exclaimed, expression determined. "I'll go find Nee-san right now! I better see you later, —, got it?!" Before I could even give a proper response, the small girl ran off in the direction I guessed she needed to take to get to Fri. I made my own mental note not to go that way, plus a short prayer that Fuji-chan didn't trip over her sandals again.

"Fri's been working hard, huh?" Errat said behind me one she was gone, a small smirk on his face. "—, you've been inside the whole time we've been working on the festival, you don't know that. I mean, sure, it was a nice encouragement tactic, but it just shows how ignorant you are. Do you even have any idea of what Fri's been doing this whole time?"

I frowned, glaring daggers into Errat as best I could. "Of course I know," I said in defiance. "She's been working on the ceremony procedures and set up, right? Good for her, she's always wanted to work on that. She'll work herself into the ground like she does every year, but it'll be spectacular, I can tell you that much."

"Close, but wrong," Errat rejected. I could feel my confidence deflate. "She's _in charge_ of the ceremony this year. And as you know, that means she was nominated and accepted onto the main planning committee. Not to mention, she's doing a stellar job of organizing everything, even if she doesn't need to. Give here a few more years and Fri will be running the entire summer festival."

For some reason, I felt a spike of pride at the idea. I hadn't accomplished anything, but Fri was going on to do something she really wanted to do. "Guess she'll have reached her goal in just a few more years… Maybe we should plan a party or something…"

"Hey, now." Errat gave me a sour look, placing the paint cans he was carrying on the ground. I backed up a few steps, but he was able to back me against a tree without any easy escape routes. "You're telling me Fri achieves her childhood dream and she gets a party, but I achieve mine and get nothing? How freakin' unfair is that? You jerk, if anything I should get my party first!"

I did my best to push Errat back, at least for the sake of some breathing room. "Whoa, whoa, you serious?" I said, trying to put together the pieces. "What do you mean you went and achieved your dream? I've heard nothing about this, Errat. You're the unfair one if anything."

"Man, what do you think I'm hauling these cans around for?" he asked, pointing to his cargo. "It's the head's job to gather the essentials and instruct the rest into success. This here is me doing my job to pitch in and make the lives of every employee that will be working the Noda stand during the festival easier."

"To be honest I thought you were helping someone else out…" I admitted scratching the back of my head. Errat pouted, but the expression quickly gave way to one of happiness. "Sorry, I should have known there's no way you'd go and do anything else until the family stand was done. So when'd you get put in charge?"

He considered it for a moment, trying to get the exact date in mind, no doubt. When he failed, he settled for an estimate. "Three months before the start date for the festival," he said. "Mom said that was the minimum amount of time she could afford to give it to me and still have the stand be a success. I would have liked more but…" Errat shrugged. "It just feels good to have your dream come true, you know?"

"Congratulations," I said, the grin on Errat's face becoming contagious. "Though if it was that long ago, why didn't you tell me? I have a phone, you know. I would have been more than willing to take a break from traveling and come home. It wouldn't have bothered me at all…"

Errat placed his hand in the air, a genuine "stop" motion. "No way," he said, the refusal serious.

"Eh? Why not?"

"Because," Errat said, his tone light again, "there's no way I could distract you from your journey with something like this. You're the only out of the three of us that decided to leave town. There's no way Fri would've let me get away with distracting you from the world out there. Besides, I knew you would come back for the summer festival anyway. It's not like I wouldn't get to tell you. And we held off on the celebration, anyway. It'll be a special dinner open to the whole festival that no one will ever forget!"

I was still disappointed, but I took some comfort in the fact that I would at least be able to celebrate with them. Errat had been dreaming of the chance to take over his family's business ever since we were little kids. The succession had happened sooner than I had expected, but I was definitely happy for him.

"I bet that Fri's pissed off she doesn't have the time to be in charge of your party, though," I commented.

"Seriously, —? As if she'd let anyone else do it." I stared in shock at Errat, mostly because the actual cause of my surprise wasn't here to direct my gaze at. He gave me a look that was playfully criticizing me for thinking that things would have gone any other way. "Of course Fri's been planning my party. Even if she didn't want to, I don't think I could stand the idea of her _not_ being the one to do it."

I thought about it. I don't think I would be satisfied had anyone else set up my celebration for becoming Champion. Fri was our best friend, and knew us better than anyone else. She would set up things we didn't even know we wanted until it was right in front of us. Despite all her OCD tendencies, the result would be perfect.

"But wait," I said, putting the pieces together. "That means Fri is on the committee, in charge of the ceremony, planning out your celebration, and she _still_ has the time to come to my house and bother me to come and do work? What kind of monster did she grow up to be?"

Errat laughed, raising an eyebrow at me. "Maybe she's trying to guilt trip you," he suggested. "If Fri didn't have to babysit you, she'd have a lot more time to finish up all of her other work." I sighed. If that was her plan it had just gained a very high chance of success. I hoped I would be able to somehow make it through the narrow escape route that was provided for me. "More realistically, I'd say it's because she wants you to be involved. Fri's doing her best to see you achieve your dream, too, —."

My cheeks heated up a bit. It was more out of shame than embarrassment. Fri was encouraging me in her own way while keeping up with the pressure of achieving her dream. I was sitting around doing nothing, waiting on something I needed to do without knowing what it was. It was pathetic in comparison on Fri's efforts and Errat's success.

"Speaking of dreams…" I started, not knowing where I was going with the sentence at all.

"Ah, that's right," Errat said, placing his hand on his chin. "In comparison to Fri, you sure have a ways to go. At this rate, you'll be the one to finish your dream last. And you know we all agreed to a punishment game for whoever achieved their dream after the others."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Out of all times, I didn't want to think of the promise we had made as kids now. I was dealing with enough already.

"Don't give me that! It was your idea!" Errat said, calling my bluff. I avoided eye contact. "You can't just back out now because it looks like you're going to lose! It doesn't work that! This is freakin' war and you will accept the consequences!"

"Yeah, yeah…" I agreed, if only to prevent a scene. Causing too much of a commotion would only attract Fri's attention, and she'd be obligated to check on it as a member of the committee. I was sticking to my plan of avoiding her at all costs. Errat smirked, a light coming into his eyes I wasn't particularly enthused to see.

"I remember it like it was yesterday…" he said, wistful. "Good old Fri was doing her best to organize us for some act she wanted to put on at the festival. After a not-so innocent question by a not-so innocent someone, we were graciously informed of her dream to one day run the festival committee. Thus I felt obligated to say my dream was to take over the family restaurant. And then, one sweet, naïve, almost pathetic—"

"Please don't describe me like that," I interrupted.

"Fine," Errat conceded.

"Also please stop telling this story."

"No way. Then you said, eyes big and full of innocence and hope, 'I'm going to catch the Pokémon that blesses our shrine every year!'" Errat added a flourish to his movements, sweeping his arms out for effect. "Man, we were so stunned that we didn't know what to say. No one had ever gotten close to the Pokémon to see it clearly, let alone to catch it. And then you shoved the dream-achieving challenge down our throats, and the rest is history!"

My face had just recovered from blushing, but was now reverting back to its previous state. I grimaced, not in the mood for a retelling of my own childhood experience. "I know. I was there," I gritted out, trying to become one with the tree I had been leaning against. "Do you have to tell that story every year? It's embarrassing."

"Would you rather I tell it at the opening ceremonies? Or better yet, how about I tell it during the blessing ceremony to all the kids? Fri's in charge of that, so she'll have to hear it, too. Then the legend of your impossible dream can be passed down to the new generation!" I made a sour face, and Errat laughed.

"Don't you have work to do?" I snapped, putting an end to the conversation. He turned back to his cans, picking them up with ease. "Do me a favor. When Fri checks in on how the Noda stand is coming along, don't tell her you saw me. If you do I'll forgive you for reminding me of that event."

"Can do," Errat said, saluting. It was a miracle he didn't hit himself in the face with the paint can. A few drops did leak out from the seal, adding to the splatter across his cheeks. "And thank you for your kindness." He winked. I walked and tossed a wave over my shoulder, remembering to take the opposite direction that Fuji had gone. It would take a bit longer to get where I was going, but it would be worth it. Errat set off on his own, back to wherever his family was setting up shop.

"It's impossible but if anyone can do it it's you, —," he said, just loud enough for me to hear. "I believe that. Fri does, too."

"Yeah, I know…" I muttered. I knew his words were fact, but I just couldn't feel them. There was something preventing me from taking their belief seriously when I knew there was no way to achieve what I had started my journey for.

Something important I had to do.

Whatever it was, it was potent enough to distract my attention from the desire to catch the Pokémon that blessed our town every year. The prime opportunity to do so, would be in a few weeks, when the festival happened. I should have been able to focus on it, with everything I had, but I just couldn't. No matter how much Fri and Errat believed in me.

I tried to remember. I really did. I tried to remember the dream-like experience I had had, what it had felt like. What had happened and what had been driving me on? What did it leave desired, what did I have to do to get over it? What could I possibly do to get over this feeling, to focus on what was really important to me?

"'Return… to the title screen and…'" I muttered, recounting the only part of the dream that had held any meaning. And what? What was I supposed to do?

"What the hell does that even mean, anyway?"

* * *

I am really amazed that two people even decided to follow this, given how weird the prologue is. Even so, I thank pokekid543 and DanielsRage for their follows. I hope you enjoy this quick update as a special treat, as well as accept my apology that updates from here on out will probably be no where near this fast.

I really had a lot of fun starting to develop the world and characters that surround our protagonist's life. I also enjoy writing in the protagonist's point of few. It makes me remember that I should seriously write more first-person stories.

Ah, there's a lot of weird formatting and quirks that go into this. Since they're intentional and I know why they're there, I would really appreciate someone telling me if it's still comprehensible to read. It makes perfect sense to me because I'm an author. How about you as a reader?

Next time we'll look at more of the town, meet some new characters, introduce Wicker, and the protagonist will talk to themselves in for a very, very long time. Please look forward to it!


	3. File Two: Name Entry

**Save State**

By: Aviantei

File Two: Name Entry

* * *

While I would have preferred to take the straight route to the Pokémon lab, that wasn't something I could bring myself to do in good conscience. Fuji had run off on the direct path, meaning Fri was more than likely in that direction. While what Errat had told me was enough to make me feel bad, I still couldn't convince myself that helping out with the festival preparations was the right thing to so. If that something important came along, I needed to be able to tear myself away in a second.

Of course that was just an excuse at this point, an automatic mechanism in opposition to actual reason. I had tried to make myself think otherwise—that I shouldn't be thinking about a dream so seriously, that I should be helping out Fri with whatever she needed to do—but couldn't manage to do it. The more I tried not to think about it, the more it got stuck in my head that there was still something important left to do.

Taking the long route had its advantages. While the sky was still impeccably clear, the road I was forced to take was surrounded by trees, giving me the blessing of shade I had been in desperate need of. Since most of the stalls were gathered in the more open areas without trees to interfere, I was in good shape of avoiding everyone unless someone was off on an odd run to their house to grab supplies. The chatter of the preparations quickly faded into the distance, giving me a moment of peace.

My hometown was small, just barely a town and nestled into trees at all sorts of odd angles and turns. As a kid I had to learn just which paths to take to get to a number of places, Fri and Errat's houses, the park, the lab, the store whenever Mom needed me to buy something. This involved the arduous task of memorizing trees and turns as landmarks, which had gotten me lost a fair share of times. Now they had built in signs to help out with the process, but I was confident that I could still remember exactly which way to go if I needed to.

The lab itself was nestled into a particularly dense pack of trees, a field cleared out behind it. The only boundaries were more trees, and wild Pokémon mingling in with trainer Pokémon was a common sight. I had heard that this was an unusual setup for a lab, and other regions didn't utilize it. Something about worries of trainer Pokémon running off, which I didn't see as an issue. My own team seemed to be perfectly content out here, and even had made friends with some of the local Pokémon.

I decided that it was better to play things safe than sorry. I snuck around the trees, trying to check the paths while still remaining in hiding. The lab usually ran a service for the kids during the festival, letting them play with the Pokémon so long as their trainers agreed. Fri shouldn't have any reason to come here, but that was all the reason for her to go out of her way and help someone else out. The fact that the Professors participated in the shrine ceremony didn't make me feel any less anxious.

Since the coast seemed clear enough, I decided to make a run for it. I snuck around the trees then made a sprint across the road. I bet I looked ridiculous running for all of three feet then stopping, I wasn't willing to take any chances. I even took a precursory glance around the lobby to double check that no one unpleasant was there. The lab assistant stared at me from behind his glasses, eyes wide.

"Um… can I help you?" he asked, a hesitant tone in his voice. I knew he recognized me, so it was probably my odd behavior that was concerning him. I looked around the lobby again, but didn't move from the door.

"Hey, Wato," I said, glancing behind my back. I probably looked like one of those guys that ended up thinking someone was following them all the time so they just ended up as a paranoid mess. Then again, that wasn't too off of a descriptor for what I was becoming. "There wouldn't happen to be any of the festival prep committee lurking anywhere, would there?"

Wato seemed confused at first, then his eyes took on a look of understanding. I guess that he knew what was worrying me. "No, they're not," he said. "Fri stopped by earlier, but only to get the professors. I'm the only one that's here right now, and I'm just holding down the fort."

I sighed in relief and stepped into the lab properly, enjoying the burst of air conditioning. While it wasn't too hot outside, the temperature was constantly monitored and put to the optimal temperature to keep as many of the Pokémon that stayed indoors were comfortable. The more I thought about what went into running the lab, the more I thought it seemed like one the nitpicky kind of jobs Fri would like.

"Well I came here to check on Wicker, that's all," I said. At the moment, I was barely even a Pokémon trainer anymore. I had placed my entire team under the care of the professors for the moment, and wasn't even carrying around a single Pokémon with me. All of my supplies were sitting in my bag in the living room back home. As far as it was concerned, I was just a normal teenager at this point. "Is it alright if I go into the fields?"

Wato nodded. "That's fine; you know you're always welcome here," he said smiling. Then his eyes lit up, as though he had remembered something. "Your Naleef—ah, that is, Wicker—is doing well. She really seems to enjoy the trees, so you'll probably find her over there. Although, I must say, it really is impressive that you went out and captured a legendary Pokémon so shortly after becoming Champion, —! Especially one that's an unknown type, as well! It's an amazing accomplishment."

I blushed, not used to the praise anymore. Once I had come home, it had been a steady phase of compliments from everyone. _Congratulations on becoming the Champion! Way to go! Can I see the legendary Pokémon?_ I had been buried under the words for weeks, and then it had faded out as people accepted the facts and moved on in favor of the festival.

"Ah, it's not that impressive," I said, trying to get that look of admiration out of Wato's eyes. With the way things were going recently, I didn't feel like I deserved it at all. "It was more like luck, really. I ran around for months on her tail and didn't come anywhere close to catching anything. The fact that Wicker decided to stay in the pokéball was a miracle in itself."

Despite my intentions, Wato shook his head. "You shouldn't say things like that, —. After all, they say that Naleef will only become partners with a trainer that is truly determined. That determination will be met with destiny. The fact that you had to work so hard and never gave up and came to succeed shows that it's fate." He smiled. "Besides, not many trainers become Champion, let alone capture a legendary. The fact that you've done both only shows just how skilled you are."

"Yeah, I guess."

A skilled trainer without a memory or any self-motivation ability, that was something new. I wondered if I would have to tell Wato just what I had become for him to stop looking at me like that. It wasn't the type of look I deserved. Even simpler, I could just have him talk to Fri. Her words would more than likely make him experience a healthy dose of disillusionment towards me.

"I'm gonna head out back, okay? If Fri stops by, would you not let her know I'm here?" I asked. Wato nodded, although he was clearly confused by my words. Maybe after the festival was over, I would give him an explanation, if he really cared to know.

The fact that there was still this much natural clear land out in the middle of the woods still surprised me. You would have to go over a few hills before you could even see the end of the trees on the other side. Artificially installed biomes for the other Pokémon types were scattered about, but I couldn't see any of them from here. When I was little, I thought that this was the biggest clear spot in the world. You can only imagine my reaction when I first stepped out of town to start my Pokémon journey.

I kept on the side of the trees, like Wato had said. Other trainers' Pokémon were all over the lab grounds, playing with each other or just laying around. When one of my Pokémon recognized me, they usually came over and I stopped to play with them a few minutes. By the end of the day, I planned to walk all over the area, just to make sure everyone was doing all right.

I had one place I needed to stop at first, though. Keeping to the trees, I would run into it eventually. I ran my hands over the bark, letting it scrape against my fingers. It didn't really hurt me much, but it was enough that keeping track of the grooves in the trees left my fingers feeling numb afterwards.

By the time I made it up to the top of the hill I was heading towards, I was more than a bit out of breath. I reached for my pack to get a bottle of water before I remembered that I had left it at home. I should start carrying it around since I always seemed to need a break by the time I got here, but it almost felt cruel to give Fri any sense of hope I wouldn't go through with.

At the very least I should have grabbed something to drink while I was still inside the lab.

My goal had been a swing firmly attached to one of the solo trees at the top of the hill. Errat, Fri, and I had spent so much time at the lab as kids that the professors had installed it for us to have something else to play on. The hilltop offered a pretty impressive view of the laboratory grounds as it was, but once you started swinging you could see everything.

We had spent so much time here. Errat and I used to see who could jump the farthest off the swing until Fri had joined us and told us we would break our necks if we kept it up. From there, we had found other ways to amuse ourselves, like aerial Pokémon I Spy or setting up picnics with lunch from Errat's family restaurant. Fri had taken a long time to understand how to swing properly, and Errat and I took turns pushing her up into the sky.

What I wouldn't give to be that young again, for a number of reasons.

Even now, I couldn't stop coming back to the place. It had been where the three of us had spent the morning before I headed off on my journey, and where we had held the party to celebrate me becoming the Champion. It was the perfect place to go and think, just losing myself in the act of pushing my legs back and forth until they were sore.

Thinking about it, it probably was an obvious place for me to go. That being said, I was honestly surprised Fri hadn't thought of it and found me already. Of course, it could have been too obvious, making it stupid to go there in the first place.

I couldn't tell if that meant she had faith in my intelligence or was just counting me as not stupid enough to go there. Consequently, I couldn't tell if I should be insulted or not.

Wicker had also seemed to take a liking to the place, which was really good for her. I guess that the place must have smelled like me or something, because I was told she even slept in the tree after running around everywhere else all day. I guess it was a bit cruel to just drop her off here and leave her, but I also didn't want to just keep her cramped up in her pokéball all day. At least here she had other Pokémon she could play with.

I swung for a few minutes, even though I was still breathing hard. This made me tire out rather quickly, and I simply coasted out the rest of my kinetic energy supply. Once I was at a slow enough speed, Wicker jumped into my lap. I stopped so I could hold onto her properly.

Wicker was a Naleef, a legendary Pokémon. Even so, she was small for a legend, fitting onto my lap easily. Simply described, she looked like a small Deerling made entirely out of wood with leaves sprouting out in bunches where her horns and tail would have been. She could have been a grass type, except her leaves shimmered with color that designated her as a type that even the professors couldn't yet identify.

I honestly didn't care. Wicker was powerful, and she was an impressive catch. Somehow, I had known just where to look while I wandered the region, the goal of capturing legendaries in mind. It had been almost too perfect, not getting lost in the woods on the other side of the continent, way to similar the ones at home. I didn't falter at any of the turns that would have been traps, and found my way into a sparkling part of the woods where she slept.

She regarded me, as if she was trying to figure out if I was worth waking up for. Apparently the answer had been yes. I already had the Master Ball, a gift from the professors, in hand. I was about to throw it before she ran past me, and the chase began.

I ran around an insane amount the next few months. I went through every corner of the region I had already been in, and others I hadn't. I made new friends, wasted pokéballs on other Pokémon I had yet to capture, and wore out the tread on more than one pair of sneakers. It was exhausting, but in the end I succeeded, and headed back home to rest.

Except it wasn't really to rest and I had that crazy dream and now I was just one big giant stagnant mess running away from my best friends by planning on a swing when they would really use my help. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Wicker let out a cry—the same pure, sad note as always, like she was reflecting my thoughts. I kept her steady with one arm, holding onto the swing with the other hand, starting to swing. My path was a bit caddywompus due to physics, but Wicker seemed to enjoy it.

"What do you think, Wicker?" I asked. "That wasn't a dream, right? Or it was and I just keep using it as an excuse to do nothing. I just don't want to do anything I would have wanted to do before. Oh man, isn't that supposed to be a sign of depression. Damn, you don't think I'm depressed, do you?"

Wicker cried out again, and it sounded more like she was scolding me for cussing than trying to cheer me up. She let out a series of notes, which I chose to take as her telling me I wasn't crazy. As much as I loved Wicker, we had yet to form a definite bond where I could understand exactly what she was telling me based off a few sounds.

"No, no, it's more like… melancholy? No. A lack of self-motivation? No, I have that skill, I just can't work myself up to use it right now. Ugh, what's the word for when you have a crazy dream that you're certain is reality but you can't find any proof of it but it nags at you to the point that you can't do anything else with your life because you're using said dream/reality as justification without telling anyone that?"

Wicker's cry was short and succinct. I guessed the Pokémon language was way more diverse than that of humans.

I dug my feet into the ground, stopping the swing short. Sensing my intention, Wicker squirmed out of my grip before I had the chance to let go and landed on the ground. I stood up looking over the lab to figure out where we would go first.

"Come on, Wicker, let's go see the others."

* * *

My legs finally told me to rest once we had made it to the water habitat. Two bodies of water were next to each other, one for fresh water and the other for salt water Pokémon. I chose to ditch my shoes and soak my feet in the fresh water side, and Wicker took a drink next to me. I considered asking one of my own Pokémon for a drink once I caught my breath.

Man, sitting around the house and not doing anything had done a number on me. What had happened to the me that could run around the region multiple times in a few months without hardly ever stopping? That me could've run a marathon against some serious athletes and done well. This me was seriously lacking in comparison.

Hey, maybe if I exercised properly, Fri would be less on my case. The only problem with that was that she would use my newfound motivation for evil.

"Ah, so this is where you were."

I froze at the sound of the voice, then relaxed. Wicker, picking up on my discomfort, jumped to the defense, only to end up rubbing against the legs of the person who had shown up seconds later. Professor Maple smiled, laughing as she petted Wicker's head. In the end, she sat down next to me on the lakeside, and Wicker settled in between us.

"Good afternoon, Professor," I said. At least I guessed it was afternoon, judging by the sun. Other than that, I had no other way to accurately guess at what the time was. "Please don't tell me you came out here on a hunch because Fri said she needed me."

The professor shook her head, looking out onto the lake instead of me. Some of the Pokémon, including a few of my own, noticed her and began to swim over. "I came out here on a hunch," she said, "and Fri does need you, but the two aren't really connected. I just wanted to talk about some things with you."

I couldn't tell whether or not I should be relaxing. On one hand, she could have meant to talk to me about just about anything not festival related. On the other, she really could be here to guilt trip me about Fri without necessarily coming from the source itself. I focused myself on attending to the petting needs of my Pokémon. "What about?" I asked.

"Oh, just some small talk." Professor Maple started to play with someone's Lapras, but I could tell her intentions were also more serious. Her hands slipped over the Pokémon's skin and shell, almost as if checking its wellbeing at the same time. "Pokémon really are amazing, aren't they?"

Wicker made a happy cry, taking the statement as a compliment. I chuckled a bit, the tension draining from my shoulders. "Yeah, they really are. I've seen so many of them while I was traveling, and I never went without being surprised. There's just so many species and I haven't even seen them all yet."

"Is that why you became a trainer?" the professor asked. I felt myself going to say yes, but that wasn't exactly true. For the second time that day, I found myself recalling a certain event from my childhood. Noting my expression, Professor Maple laughed. "No? Well then, go on."

There wasn't an easy way for me to get out of this conversation the same way I had gotten out of it with Errat. I sighed, relenting. "I wanted to be a trainer ever since I was a kid. When I left town, it was because I had people pushing me, telling me to go for it. While I had almost forgotten, they didn't forget the reason why I had wanted to be a trainer. There was something important I wanted to do…"

Professor Maple smiled at me. "And did you do it?"

My cheeks heated up in embarrassment. The more I looked at it, the stupider the dream seemed, catching a sacred Pokémon. I shook my head, and the professor's smile dropped. There I was, letting more people down because of some stupid dream I couldn't accomplish. That made two important things I wasn't able to do.

"So why don't you try again?" the professor asked. I looked up at her. "You've already accomplished so many things, —." She gestured to Wicker, who tipped her head up into the professor's hand. "I'm sure that if you keep trying you'll get somewhere. Also, if you were trying harder, then you wouldn't have to worry so much about Fri worrying about you."

I went to tell the professor that Fri wasn't worried about me, just angry, but stopped myself. Fri was a difficult person to read at times, but I was her best friend. It should have occurred to me that I was making her worry herself sick by lying around and doing nothing.

Okay, maybe "worry herself sick" was a bit too much, but the point still stood. I looked down to Wicker, who cooed at me in inspiration. My Pokémon surrounding me seemed to do the same thing, and Professor Maple nodded as she stood up.

"You've raised your Pokémon very well, —," she said. "That's why I believe in you. I'm sure you probably don't think what I've said is true, and I know you probably won't be better in an instant. But really, all I've said is a little something for you to think about, that's all." With those words she waved and left. I reminded myself to wave.

"A little something" wasn't the choice of words I would have used to describe what she had just said.

I ended up dreaming. I couldn't exactly call it a strange dream, since it paled in comparison to The Dream that had started this mess. Everything was dark, but Professor Maple was talking to me, her voice soothing and professional. And in the end, just as I was about to return to consciousness, I was asked a question.

_What is your name?_

"That's a weird question…" I said as I woke up, but I found myself thinking about it way longer than I should have. I chalked it up to the fact that I had just woken up, but that didn't seem right.

Only after a few minutes was I able to remember the fact that the name I had been given was Jijri.

* * *

So our protagonist finally has a proper name! Way to go! It gets really hard to remember when to omit out names and gender terms and all that, but I'm not quite out of the woods on those grounds yet.

A thanks to pokekid543 and Something dictionary related for your respective review and follow! I truly an grateful for your support.

A quick request: If anyone notices weird looping sentence structures in this chapter or others that don't really make any sense, please let me know that they do and where they exist! I seem to have an issue that when I upload some of my files, my text gets distortions. I try my best to fix these, but I am only human! Letting me know if I miss any would be a great help!

Next time, Jijri takes a proactive role in the worlds of others. Please look forward to it!


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